Sleep: 5 Things You Didn't Know

Each and every night we close our eyes and drift off into a state of mild unconsciousness. It is a process so common that it consumes nearly one-third of our lives. This translates to an estimated 26 years spent in slumber if we assume the average American lifespan of 78. Now that’s a heck of a lot of time. But for a process so common to the human experience, sleep is still associated with an incredible number of unknowns.

The most cited record for sleepless hours was held by 17-year-old Randy Gardner of the U.S., who stayed awake for an astonishing 264 hours back in 1964. Since this time, however, the record has been broken on numerous counts. But Gardner’s time still holds the most weight as it was independently verified by the most rigorous methods (Gardner was monitored by physicians as part of a sleep-deprivation study).

Part of the problem in determining who really holds the record lies with the determining body, Guinness World Records (formerly The Guinness Book of Records). As of 1989, Guinness decided to no longer support records of sleep deprivation on the grounds that such records were largely unverifiable and could encourage actions harmful to human health. Oddly enough, such a disclaimer could probably apply to many of the risky records recorded by Guinness.

2- It’s a myth that you shouldn’t wake a sleepwalker

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not dangerous to wake a sleepwalker. Modern myth has it that doing so might result in dire consequences. But in reality, a sleepwalker will rarely react with anger upon being awoken. Instead, they may be a little confused, disoriented, annoyed, or even embarrassed, but rarely will they respond with hostility.

Truth is that sleepwalking can be dangerous — but only to sleepwalkers themselves. Waking a sleepwalker is, therefore, not only safe, but it might even be a good thing, since there’s a chance that it may save the sleepwalker from embarrassment, injury or even death. Now before we advise our readers to go off hunting for sleepwalkers to wake, just know that waking a sleepwalker is no simple task. Most experts instead recommend assisting the sleepwalker back into bed using gentle motions only.